Greenville Magazine - April 2008 - (Page 10) from the publisher Green Back and Better Than ever “Green, Green it’s Green they say on the far side of the hill ” -Chad Mitchell Trio Your City. Your Magazine. Publisher Gary r. ault Editor-in-Chief Jordana Megonigal Managing Editor elisabeth parrish Business Editor lydia Dishman Contributing Writers Heather Brannon, M.D. Hailey Carmichael John Cessarich John DeWorken lydia Dishman allen Gillespie D. B. larousse Becky Mann erin Mercer elisabeth parrish richard peck Johnny price Brandy Woods Snow alison Storm Brad Wyche Art Director Kim Granner Graphic Designer Matt Stepp Photographers ashley Fulmer, ernest rawlins photography, Oliver Yu Fotographie, pat rawlins photography, patrick Collard Studios CEO/Managing Partner paul Gesimondo V.P./Corporate Sales Manager Stuart White Upstate Advertising Manager Jason Manges Sr. Advertising Consultant Sara Cox Account Managers Todd Miller, Fraser Tabb, lance Watson Director of Finance & Operations angel Hunter-irby Circulation & Distribution Manager Jen alewine Administration rebekah Hinson P hysicist Amory Lovins was recently quoted saying “we could be completely off oil at about one-fifth the cost of buying it, create a million new jobs and save a million old jobs, get rid of one-fourth of our carbon dioxide emissions and make a very handsome return while greatly phasing out the emissions that are changing our climate.” That ought to perk anyone’s interest! Going green is popular again for good reason. Back in the ‘70s, I remember the country going on the first green conservation kick and there was a lot of information being offered about passive solar and oil and gasoline conservation. It was fascinating stuff, and while many of us got real excited about it all for a while, we seemed to loose focus and soon moved on to other interests. Well, going green is back and it seems to have more support than ever before. The environment has become an important topic in recent years and more and more people believe we have a growing problem that needs to be taken seriously. Recently I was introduced to “the green fuel team” at the Rocky Mountain Institute in Snowmass, Col., and their founder Amory Lovins. I learned some amazing things about what he and his institute have been doing for some years now. They not only predicted many of the challenges we are experiencing today, but they offered real solutions that made better economic sense than the conventional ways then in practice. Amory Lovins thought we were looking at automotive fuel efficiency all wrong. He determined that our automobiles use only about one-third of a percent of their fuel energy to actually move the driver from place to place. He said that 90 percent of fuel never makes it to your wheels – it’s lost in the engine, drive train and all the car’s accessories. He claimed that smarter designs and technology could dramatically reduce that waste. He began by designing an all-new vehicle, insulated like a home with double pane windows and made of carbon fiber plastic that is dramatically lighter and 10 times stronger than steel. The lighter car requires a much smaller engine and power train without sacrificing performance, so it still appeals to the majority of middle class drivers. In addition, this car frame is amazingly made of only 14 carbon fiber parts that actually snap together. They designed this lighter, safer, better performing hybrid car to get over 100 mpg and plan to hit the market with it in three to five years. They’ve even designed it to store unused energy, so at the end of the day you could sell that excess and receive a monthly check from the electric company. If we would convert enough of our automobiles to these next generation cars, the power that all those cars would generate would actually be considerably more power than is presently generated by all the electric power plants in the country today. Our cars represent a much larger power source option than the electricity grid we use today and could realistically be the answer to both the oil and environmental crises we are facing today. So when Amory Lovins claims that we can reduce costs and improve our situation, he’s not whistlin’ “Dixie!” n For more information see www.rmi.org, abundance by design. GrEEnVIllE MAGAzInE 614 n. Main St., Greenville, SC 29601 864.271.1105 • 864.271.1165 fax e-mail: gmag@greenvillemagazine.com www.greenvillemagazine.com Gary R. Ault, Publisher peaCHTree MeDia GrOUp PuBLISHerS oF Greenville Design Greenville Magazine SouthCarolina Magazine Greenville First Best and Brightest 35 & Under The Cliffs Business Person of the Year 50 Most Influential Greenville Magazine Copyright © 2008 Founded 1993, Gary r. ault, Joe a. erwin peachtree Media Group all rights reserved. reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. not responsible for unsolicited manuscripts or photographs. 10 Greenville MaGazine | april 2008 http://www.rmi.org http://www.greenvillemagazine.com
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